Beyond the Stars
by A Drop of Starlight
Summary: The year is 2250 and the race has begun to find the cure for the world - time travel. My name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and I'm part of a space mission for this purpose. Exciting, right? But space is no joking matter, and I'll tell you how I learned that the hard way. Along with my companion, an Italian scientist called Lovino Vargas...
1. Introduction

**_- Chapter 1: Introduction -_**

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><p>The year is 2250 and the world is all right. All right in the sense that not much has changed since the start of the century. People aren't much stronger than before, or smarter, or faster, or sexier - although, every once in a while, along comes someone with a little of everything. It's fun to argue this point. I've met one like that and he was fascinating. Still is, in fact. But most folks just don't like to believe me.<p>

As far as Earth is concerned, though, things have changed: she's gotten smaller and quieter and much more tired. The world is getting more polluted by the day. Remember when they first warned about global warming? And how almost none of the experts believed it, how the ones who saw it coming were called "crazy tree-huggers" or "misinformed laymen" or things like that? Well, the misinformed were actually right for a change. Our planet is pretty messed up right about now - has been for a long while - and sometimes I think her life will be ending very, very soon.

I mean, look at the signs.

Take Antarctica - no one has heard of that continent for the last hundred years, ever since it melted and vanished right into the ocean. The same with the ice in the Arctic region. All gone. The sea levels rose so much the other continents started shrinking, and if I remember correctly, almost fifty nations so far have lost their coastlines to the waves. There's no such thing as winter or spring or fall anymore; only cool summer, warm summer, or _hot _summer - you can bet that last one's a killer. It's a miracle if night falls and the temperature drops more than three degrees, because it never does anymore. And nature is dying - every second we take a breath, some plant or animal disappears, just like that, never to be replaced. Not that there were many left to begin with.

All around the world, the talk of _going green_ has ended. Green no longer exists. Our fake cities are taking over, and the land is crumbling, wasting away little by little. I would know. It's a sad thing to see.

Our world is basically one huge time-sensitive bomb waiting to explode. The countries left from the flooding stopped being countries; they banded together and established continental alliances. Places like England and France are now regions - you come from this region or that region but internationally, you only identify yourself as European, Asian, American, African, Australian. It makes for a wonderful intercontinental rivalry. Though rivalry is a nicer way of putting things. The one thing that brings people together is a world language: English. That's about it.

Still, on the (supposedly) bright side, our lives are pretty much the same. The one friend we have left in this world is technology, and she's proven herself trustworthy. To combat skyrocketing temperatures we've developed an advanced cooling system, with lots of underground vents and pipes. It needs water - but for that we purify seawater or make it ourselves, with machinery some guy invented a hundred years ago. All the existing cities use it. We also have domes built over our cities, so the sun's rays don't kill anyone on a hot day. And every bit of architecture or moving vehicle has its own solar panels for free energy. Really blinding on a cloudless day - every day. It helps things though.

It's funny to think how, 200 years ago, people still thought life like this was impossible. But we've managed to break that barrier, and Moore's law has held up, even if that has its pros and cons. Maybe people _have _gotten smarter and the _American Times _is all wrong.

Smart or not, though, there's one barrier we have yet to overcome and that is time. Time has always been our enemy - we've all run late to work or missed a date or (worst of all) overslept and missed that all-important rerun of our favorite TV show. Don't worry, I'm just being sarcastic. I think.

But there _are _more serious things - like getting horribly injured to the point of no return, or losing a loved one, or watching the world itself disintegrate around us, which is looking pretty likely. Things like that, where all that's needed to keep them from happening is _time. _If only we had known sooner. If only we had more time to fix things. Then our lives wouldn't be like this. Then our world wouldn't be like this.

Time is wisdom. Time is power. Time is the judge and the conductor of all things in life.

Now perhaps you're thinking, what if we could reverse things?

Well, that's exactly what we're trying to do.

Because we figure, if we can find some way to warp the fabric of time, allowing people to go backward or forward at their will - new decisions could be made, lives altered, worlds avoided and even more. In essence we could change history, change the world, make everything better. We wouldn't need to fear death so much if we could go back and relive our pasts and maybe prolong our own lives.

At least that's what most people think - and it _is _a nice vision. Imagine stepping through a portal and emerging into an earlier time, an earlier place, finding yourself younger and stronger and with knowledge of the future. Then imagine going to the future and seeing exactly what's going to happen to you in ten years and, if there's anything bad in there, go back in time and prevent it from happening. That's what everyone wants. The science fiction writers catered to those interests for years.

Problem is, nothing's really that simple. Not when time's involved.

Right now, scientists are going through old theories of relativity, preparing new ones, and trying to find out what exactly makes the perfect formula for time-travel. And even more important than that: what we could theoretically do - and not do - with it. So far no one's truly succeeded yet - but last I heard, the continental alliances have started a race. A race against time to uncover the secret. There's nothing we need more than the promise of a better day, and this discovery is supposed to make that happen.

So I don't think the leaders are far off the mark, when they claim that whoever controls time travel will control the world.

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><p>By now you're probably wondering who I am and how I know all this. My name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and I come from that region of Europe called Spain. I'm a scientist in charge of investigating natural issues and developing ways to solve them. An uphill climber, so to speak. You could call me an environmental scientist or an environmentalist - there's no difference between them now. It's a depressing job. But now I have a new one: I've been assigned to the EA-225 to go out into space.<p>

Yes, it's a spaceship and no, it's not one of those clumsy dangerous giants of old. Our European spacecraft are the smallest, fastest, and most fuel-efficient in the world, and they've been around for decades. With them we've mapped the solar system, observed stars beyond, discovered other strange space objects that I can't even name because I know so little of them. Now, though - we're going to use the EA-225 to research time travel.

The idea is simple; the explanation is not. And since it's such a well-kept secret (in other words, I don't get it either) I'll spare you most of the details.

Our whole mission basically revolves around a black hole. You've probably heard of those - whatever goes in doesn't come out, because of the incredibly strong forces in the center. That center is called a wormhole. Well, that's what the astronomers call them; some of us laymen refer to them as time-tunnels. Because theoretically they can warp time - and if you were to go through one, you could end up in the past or the future. Some say you might even enter a parallel universe. But the main thing is, they allow time travel. The only problem is finding one safe enough to pass through.

And we in Europe have found one. Definitively. We know where it is, we know it's a good candidate for time travel. All we need to do is get there. Hence the EA-225.

Now you might be wondering what an environmental scientist like me has to do with any of this. Actually I've been wondering the same myself. I didn't know a thing about the mission because it was a secret - no one's supposed to know aside from a small group of European scientists - but somehow I was invited to join the team. Recruited, rather. Just in case we find any extraterrestrial life or things like that, was what they said. But that's highly doubtful. I'll probably become an assistant of some sort, since the only astronomy I know is in the patterns of the stars.

Still, it sounds like an amazing journey. We're going beyond the planets, beyond the stars, to solve a mystery that's puzzled people for millennia. And from the looks of it, we might just be able to get somewhere and save the world with what we find. Provided it's used correctly, of course. I hope it will be, and I hope that hope comes true.

I actually have met most of the other people on the expedition. There's eight of us in total - four men, four women. I'd say that makes a pretty good team, considering that some of the best minds in the world are part of our eight. You know what's interesting, though?

That Italian scientist. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

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><p><strong>Space stuff (which you can skip if you want, but just FYI for science geeks like me, aka FAMILY):<strong>

**A _wormhole_ or _Einstein-Rosen bridge_ is the hypothetical center of a black hole that can (in theory) connect two regions of time. So basically if you went into one end in the year 2014 you could possibly go forward into, say, 5908, or backwards into 1627, or something like that. But according to physics they'd be unstable, so if the smallest speck of dust went into the wormhole the whole thing would collapse. The only way something as big as time travel could happen is if there's_ negative energy_ present, which can keep the wormhole open and stable for long periods of time. Currently stable wormholes and negative energy don't exist. But a part of physics known as string theory has come up with possible solutions.**

**All of the above basically means that you can pass through a wormhole without turning into spaghetti. You'd get to the other side through something known as a _white hole _(an apt name), which is in essence the exhaust end of the black hole. That's what pushes everything, including you, into another time. It's been said that trips like these are one-way only but I'd rather not deal with that here so yeah. To any astronomers out there who read Spamano fanfics, please don't hurt me. But I will accept any criticism and fix things up if necessary!**

**Thanks so much for your interest in this story!**


	2. Chaos Theory

**_- Chapter 2: Chaos Theory -_**

_A mathematical study of systems that are very sensitive to initial conditions; small changes at one point in time can produce widely different results later on. Also known as the butterfly effect._

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><p>Sometimes - actually most of the time - life is funny, and likes playing tricks when you're not looking. Sometimes you meet people under the strangest of circumstances, and end up remembering them for a long while. It was like that on the morning of July 22, 2250, when Time joined in with his pranks and I ended up running late to a certain important scientific conference. I still don't know why things happened the way they did, but - I wouldn't have had it any other way.<p>

I had a habit of attending things early - punctuality was one of my few strong suits - so I could cite some pretty good reasons why I had been late (and they would all be true). But that's beside the point. It mostly had to do with the amazingly many security measures in Geneva, Switzerland - understandable, since that was the European seat of government, home to the Prime Minister himself - but to a rushed traveler it was tedious. Even though I was authorized to skip some of the check-ins, it was part of the Prime Minister's request that we keep a low profile, and I was not one to argue.

The security guards themselves were all right, though. Here in this station there were five of them, men and women with tranquil smiles that offset the sharpness of their eyes. They talked about the windstorms and dust storms outside, about the never-ending drought, and other things, but only carelessly, in passing. I think they were used to their insulated city, with its protective dome and its simulated blue skies, its ventilation and its artificial grassy parks. It was not that way for me - back home I'd gone out countless times to map the wasteland in Spain, with no real results in terms of city conscientiousness. That was one of the reasons I was here.

But the wait was long. Each person took up about ten minutes, and I was the twentieth in line, only thirty minutes away from missing the conference. Having nothing better to do I turned to the man behind me. He was fairly short, with dark brown hair, furrowed brows and impatient hazel eyes - uniform but irked Italian features. The old traveling clothes he wore clashed with his dissatisfied frown, the haughty frown of an impatient nobleman. When I first noticed him he had been fiddling with his watch, but now he was simply staring straight ahead, looking more irritated by the minute. It was kind of fascinating to watch, really.

I must have been gazing too long, because ten seconds later he glared at me.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

Here was someone who took no nonsense. "Oh, nothing," I said quickly. "You're new here too, aren't you?"

"What business is that of yours?" he accused.

"You're right, it's not," I admitted. "But hey, if a guy arrives in a foreign city alone he likes having someone to talk to. Don't you?"

From years of experience, I had learned that a smile (genuine or not) could break ice of almost any thickness, and now seemed a fairly good time to try. But for some reason it failed on this man. His thin mouth tightened and his eyes hardened, deflecting my every attempt.

"Even if I _was_," he said pointedly, "I wouldn't want to talk to you."

That stung a little, but I tried again anyway.

"Am I that boring to you?"

"Yes."

"But _you're _not."

That, apparently, hit home and he huffed angrily. "Whatever."

"What's your name?" I ventured before he could recover.

"None of your business. Now leave me alone."

"I can't. Unless you would like to go first, which you could, and I would let you, since you seem to be in more of a hurry anyway."

I had no idea why I was still talking to him. It was a basic social conduct rule that if someone didn't want to talk to you, you let the matter drop and ignored him. At least that was what everyone had been taught from childhood, but I couldn't find it in me to do that.

Besides, he was already pushing past me to take his spot in front. "You said it, not me."

"That's fine." It was nice to see that his face had lightened, just a bit. I grinned. "Just don't forget about me when you go!"

The Italian spluttered. "What - you're acting like we're friends already!"

"But we _are_!"

"No, we aren't. We talked for a maximum of ten minutes."

"All the more reason to remember you!" I interjected, almost tasting victory. "I'd miss you, you know!"

"You - " He glanced at me, flushed angrily and turned away. "Shut it."

"I can't do that."

By now we had reached the front of the line, and he stepped forward to put his luggage in the scanning machine. He'd brought a lot with him: first a briefcase, then a valise, and finally a large suitcase big enough to hold a child (or so I thought). For the first time I wondered what he could be doing here. Maybe he was a tourist, or staying with relatives, or just passing through on his way to another city. But the briefcase seemed to suggest serious business... So many possibilities, but I wanted to find out.

Then I saw him speak to the security guard at the front, pull something out of his pocket and flash it. The guard's eyes widened and he nodded quickly. My Italian friend then took his bags; it seemed he had been exempted from the standard procedure. That _should _have been enough to tell me something, but for some reason it didn't reach me at the time.

"Are you really going now?" I asked when he turned to leave. "You won't even tell me your name?"

He glanced at me almost with surprise, and looked like he might want to say something, but abruptly stopped himself.

"You, mister, need to stop being nosy. We don't even know each other. And chances are you'll never see me again."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." He was already walking quickly away. I ran after him.

"Wait!"

"What -_ ow_!"

I had overestimated the time it would take to reach him, and he had turned to meet me in the same moment, which meant I crashed straight into him. He didn't completely lose his balance, and his suitcase didn't fall, but the briefcase went flying and popped open on the floor, spilling a great number of official-looking - papers.

He had _paper._

Which was strange, because barely anyone used paper these days. With everything being online, electronic, and instantaneous, and traceable in exactly the same ways, paper had simply become an unnecessary burden. Only the most important official documents were kept in paper form, and in the most secret places.

Yet this Italian had a whole pile of them.

I checked to make sure he was all right. At least no bodily injury had resulted, except the injury to his pride. He took one look at the mess and exploded. "Now look what you did, you klutz!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would - I'll help - "

"No," he snapped and bent down to retrieve his belongings. When I followed suit something suddenly came over him. He glanced at me again, but this time it was not a mere curious glance. His eyes narrowed, and in them was dark hostility. "_Get the fuck away from me_."

I stared at him, open-mouthed. "What?"

"I said, get the fuck away from me. I know who you are - don't think I was fooled by your tricks even for a minute. You've failed and you won't ever get what you want off of _me_. Now get back to where you belong, or else."

"What do you mean?" I couldn't understand his terrifyingly angry expression. "I wasn't stalking you! I come from Spain, I only arrived here today - "

"Enough." While I was talking the Italian had re-packed his files and stood up, his voice low and dangerous. "I don't care what you say. If you dare try anything on me, you'll have the security guards to reckon with."

He didn't wait for me to answer, just strode out the door and vanished around the corner, walking at a brisk pace like he had someplace important to go.

I stood there for a while until the guard at the scanning machine, who still held my bags, shouted for me to retrieve them before he put them away. So I went back, took what I had, and returned to the same doorway through which the Italian had left. Maybe he had mistaken me for someone else, but either way, it seemed we wouldn't be seeing each other again. He was right about that. Still, it was a damper on an already strange day.

Remembering I also had somewhere to be, I sighed and stepped out the door. And that was when I saw the shiny green card lying facedown on the pavement before my feet.

I picked it up and turned it over. It was a government-issued ID of the highest order, with the Prime Minister's seal printed gold in the background. On it I read the following.

NAME: LOVINO VARGAS  
>DATE OF BIRTH: 1703/2225  
>PLACE OF BIRTH: ROME<br>REGION: ITALY

*OWNER OF THIS CARD IS AUTHORIZED TO PASS ALL LEVELS OF SECURITY AND ENTER ALL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.*

And, of course, at the top was a picture of that very same Italian man.

* * *

><p>By the time I got to my hotel room and left again my head was spinning, and almost in the literal sense. I just couldn't believe the coincidence - I had run into one of the most powerful men in Europe, and struck up a conversation with him out of nowhere. No wonder he had thought me suspicious. But I hadn't known who he was - until now.<p>

Lovino Vargas. Astrophysicist. I had seen the name in many scientific papers, but never his face. He kept a low profile and almost never appeared in public talks; but from what I could tell, he was one of the most well-known, accomplished scientists in the field of astronomy.

And he was a member of the conference I was now going to.

Having arrived at the Generell Hall of the Prime Minister, I checked in at the front desk and took the elevator to the fourth floor. While I waited I pulled out Lovino Vargas' ID and stared for a moment at his handsome frowning face. Then I took out mine. It was rather hard to compare the two - I was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, twenty-six, lowly low-paid environmentalist; he was an entirely different story. But if it weren't for our pictures and personal information, our cards would have looked exactly the same.

The elevator dinged and I stepped out with a little trepidation, wondering what he would say when I arrived, bearing his ID. Well, mostly I wondered how he'd react to seeing_ me_ again.

I reached the room, which had a metal door equipped with both a fingerprint and ID scanner, and probably a bunch of other hidden security devices to pick out impostors. But I was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and I was meant to be here today. I pressed my thumb into the small grey square, a beep sounded, and the door slid open.

It appeared that I was still on time.

Although the meeting room seemed a hub of activity, on closer inspection there were only seven people present. It didn't look very much like a meeting, aside from the furnishings - neatly organized tables surrounded a raised podium in the center, with a large darkened screen in the back. The walls were cold and bare along with the grey floor tiles, giving the whole place the air of a courthouse.

Not that I had spent all this time admiring the room. I'd been looking around for a certain Italian - and there he was.

He sat near the back, face stone-cold and very still, so still I could have mistaken him for one of the statues by the wall. But it was impossible to miss that strange frozen look in his eyes, because it was directed straight at me.

Which was - well - not very surprising.

"Oh hey, you're finally here!" a voice piped up from behind me. "You must be Antonio!"

The speaker was a tall man with strikingly pale hair and grinning crimson eyes, wearing an official blue uniform, who had made his way over upon seeing me enter. His smile dwarfed even mine as he stretched out a hand.

"I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt! But call me Gil. It's very nice to meet you," and he shook my hand strongly.

"The pleasure's all mine," I said, successfully thwarted. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"Oh, that's all right, don't worry about it!" He waved it off cheerily. "Francis does that all the time - you might've heard of him, Francis Bonnefoy, he's the mission director. He made me the pilot, can you believe it? Can't wait to get my hands on that ship," he sighed, his eyes dreamy. "I've heard she's a real beauty..."

He had a way of making people feel instantly at ease, and I couldn't help a grin at his enthusiasm. "If you'll excuse my saying so, you sound like you're in love."

Gilbert took one look at me and laughed heartily.

"I like you, Antonio," he exclaimed, not even denying what I had said. "We're going to be great friends, I just know it! The Prime Minister really is good at picking the best."

"Oh - you must be joking. I'm only an environmentalist," I said, still thinking of Lovino Vargas.

"What difference does that make? As far as I know, you guys are probably the best scientists out there! Saving the world all the time. That's a lot more than what some of the others claim to do."

I wondered that he could talk of things like this in a monitored government building. But Gilbert seemed to know his limits. He was suddenly stopped, anyway, by a loud commotion at the door.

"My friends! You're all here already - did I miss anything?"

A man wearing the shabbiest clothes possible waltzed into the room - almost literally waltzed. He had rather long blond hair that reached down to his shoulders, very sunny features, and the most mischievous grin I had ever seen. I soon realized why, when he stepped into a corner and slipped out of his dreadful garb to reveal a clean grey suit. There was something quite flamboyant in his manner that marked him as a Frenchman.

"Francis - I thought you'd never get here!" Gilbert shouted, going to shake his hand, and I followed suit. We all exchanged greetings and then the director took his seat at the front of the room. The meeting was finally starting - and I still hadn't been able to speak to Lovino. But there was an empty seat next to him.

As I neared him the Italian gave me his signature glare, not yet recovered from the shock of seeing me there. "What exactly are you doing?" he hissed when I reached his table.

"Sitting," I said cheerily, and confirmed that fact by doing so. "Nice to see you again. I'm Antonio, by the way. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. And before I forget" - I pulled out the card and his eyes widened - "this is yours. You dropped it on your way out."

For a split second Lovino's eyes flicked between me and the card. Then he snatched it out of my hand and swiftly tucked it away.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"I _really_ wasn't stalking you, you know."

"Well, I sure know that _now_," grumbled Lovino. "It was my mistake and I apologize. But for your information, the papers were a decoy."

"Really?"

"Yes - and I have more than one ID, too, so don't think you can just take mine and run with it."

I put my hands up and hoped he could see that I meant well.

"Don't worry, it's not going to happen. I give you my word of honor."

Lovino sniffed, but his eyes had grown a little less distrustful, which was progress.

"Anyway, just a tip - don't start conversations with random strangers before they've passed security. It kind of helps with personal safety, in case you didn't know."

"Yes, but at least I didn't judge wrong this time!" I grinned at him. "It's not every day I meet an astrophysicist on the way to the Prime Minister's."

"What has_ that _got to do with anything?"

"Everything, of course!"

The Italian made an indignant noise and glanced away. I was about to reply with something nice and complimentary but a loud voice came from the podium, and both Lovino and I stopped talking to listen.

"I call to order this meeting of the Genevan scientific committee, this day of July 22, 2250," Francis proclaimed with gravity, "with regards to Space Mission Number 20 of this year, with a very significant aim." He paused for a minute to look around at us all. "You are here today because you are willing to shoulder responsibilities that no ordinary man and woman will. You have been assigned to the EA-225 in order to research time travel, which may have a very real impact on all our lives in the future."

"Amen," said Gilbert, and Francis gave him a look.

"We are here - well, now that that's over." The Frenchman shook off some of his former officiousness and pushed aside a piece of paper. "We'll start with an overview of the mission. But before that I have an announcement to make: there's been a change in plan. A lot of possible spies have been detected and detained, and traced to other continental governments. No one knows how they found out about our mission, but they mean to stop us if they can. We can't afford to let that happen, for the good of Europe; and because of that the Prime Minister has advised that we set out in three days."

Silence greeted this statement - because the Prime Minister's "advice" was the equivalent of a command.

"Three days, you say?" asked a brunette from beside Gilbert.

"Yes." Francis looked very serious. "I know that was sudden, but the Prime Minister hopes we can all manage. And Gilbert?"

The man snapped to attention. "Yes?"

"Are you all right with this? You'll have to guide the ship after all."

"Of course. I've been preparing this whole time. I'm ready," Gilbert said firmly. "You can count on Lili and me." A nearby girl with short blonde hair smiled and seconded his statement.

Francis gave a nod of approval. "Then that's settled. Now we need to go over the mission again - so - ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Lovino Vargas, from Italy."

Everyone clapped politely as Lovino rose from his seat, and I thought he looked rather reluctant to speak in front of the others. But that impression vanished as soon as he reached the front of the room and turned on the large screen behind them. Instantly a map flashed there, but it was no ordinary map, of course - with a backdrop of stars and a path carefully traced between them. I couldn't make any sense of the descriptions and symbols on screen, but I did recognize the shape of the most prominent stars in the center.

"This is the constellation Sagittarius," said Lovino, pointing to that very same pattern, where the route ended. "Within it is the black hole V4641 Sagittarii, which my team and I have found to contain a wormhole. It's the closest one to Earth that's stable enough for our purposes. And with our EA-225 we'll be able to reach it in three months, at the most."

"I'll do my best with that," piped up Gilbert.

"And so will we, including myself," acknowledged Lovino. "But on another note, there's been a lot of space activity around here in the past few weeks. Other continents have their stations here too, and they probably will stay there for a while. We might pass by some of them, which means we'll have to be careful..."

"Carefulness is of the utmost importance," Francis agreed. "And Lovino, you'll be going with us, won't you? I know that in your case you have a choice."

"Of course I'm going," responded the Italian. "We're on the verge of a discovery that might change the future of our Earth - so if I could help in any way with this mission I would. There's no honor like being able to serve the world's people." _World _instead of _Europe. _"Isn't that why we're all here?"

I came very close to losing track of the entire talk - I found myself less interested in what was being said and more in the speaker himself. Despite the stiff way Lovino talked, it was clear that this cause and what it entailed was more than important to him. He was a different Lovino from the one I had met in the security station - his face was composed, his mouth in its characteristic thin line, but his eyes flashed with vitality and passion and his voice was strong and full.

If I said I was captivated I would not be exaggerating.

This time the applause in the room was more than just courtesy, and Lovino returned to our table amid approving glances. His face was no less serious but the fascinating expression in his hazel eyes had not changed.

"Staring is impolite," he informed me coolly and sat down with his gaze turned pointedly away. We both listened in silence for the rest of the meeting; he did so calmly, but I could feel my heart beating faster than it should have. It seemed he had noticed me after all.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later it was over.<p>

"Wait, I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"

Francis consulted a small square device - a quadratum, which served many functions, not the least of which was receiving private communications from the European government. "He's requested us not to leave the city, or even this part of the city, because that poses risks for us and the mission..." He read further. "The Prime Minister's set up accommodations for us - we'll be staying in the space center so we can set off as soon as possible."

"And how's this going to happen?" asked Lovino. "There's barely enough room for scientists as it is."

"They've spared some rooms in a small tower overlooking the hangar - that should be enough for all nine of us, since I'll be with you all until takeoff. The strongest security has been placed there, so we have nothing to worry about."

"Hopefully," I heard Gilbert whisper under his breath to a taller blond man, who did not reply.

"We'll split up and go there separately, in twos or threes, and in civilian clothing if possible," continued Francis. "That way we won't arouse suspicion."

"All right," said Lovino. "I'll go first. The scientists will recognize me since I've worked there before - so I could bring someone else along." He glanced very quickly towards me and then away again. Gilbert, who had sharp eyes, noticed this.

"Bring Antonio!" he suggested with a grin. "He's new here - he might get lost. He'll need someone like you a lot, I'm sure!"

"Hey, that's not true!" I protested. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lovino tense up. He looked rather indecisive, almost comically so. I felt the tiniest bit of hope that he might speak up and agree with the suggestion, but Francis jumped in at the last minute.

"Gilbert's right, it _is _rather unsafe. You haven't seen how complicated the streets are here. We just want to make sure everyone gets there in one piece."

It was impossible to argue with the director himself - not that I would - so I went over to Lovino, who seemed ready to protest the decision. "Should we go now?" I asked.

"Yes, that would probably be best." He turned on his heel and started walking, fast, and I had to take bigger strides to keep up. Secretly I was excited, but I'm sure he sensed it too.

We left the room and went into the elevator. I had assumed we'd leave by the front door of the lobby, but Lovino didn't choose that button, and instead pulled a small key card out of his pocket, which he inserted into a narrow slot by the control panel. The moment he did so, a section of the panel suddenly slid down, exposing several hidden buttons. From here he pressed a red one that read SE.

By this time my curiosity had gotten the better of me. "What does SE stand for?" I asked.

Lovino gave me an exasperated look, as though I should have known all this.

"It's a secret exit, Antonio."

"Well, that sounds like fun," I said and he snorted. Within a minute we reached a lower floor, which he told me was on the same level as the lobby. But there was no visible entrance except a dimly lighted hallway. Through narrow apertures in the wall I could see we were circling around behind the secretary's desk, to a back door that would allow us to leave unnoticed. Light streamed in as we stepped outside into a deserted clearing; the fake sky above us swirled with white clouds through which I could see a snippet of sun. Everything seemed oddly quiet, as though the whole city were holding its breath.

"Just so you know, this is only one of the many ways out," Lovino said as the door slid closed behind him. "But you can't get back in through this door. It's almost invisible from the outside, so don't bother trying."

"You make it sound like I'm planning to break in someday."

"Well, one can never be too sure." His mouth shifted in the closest to a smile I had yet seen, and I knew right away he was joking.

"Was that really the impression I gave you?"

"Why of course - now that I think about it, you do look a bit like a rival government operative."

"Then I take that as an insult," I declared. "They would never look as good as me."

Lovino coughed loudly. "Excuse you, no one asked you to rate your own looks."

"I'm not! I'm just making a distinction between me and them, for your benefit - but of course, if you want to rate them yourself, feel free!"

"No, thank you," Lovino said sharply, and walked on. I figured the joking had gone a little too far - his face had suddenly darkened and his eyes had become guarded. Still, he only ignored me for about five minutes. That was when I felt the need to ask another question.

"Are you angry with me?"

He didn't slow down or turn around. "No."

"You look angry, though."

"I'm not."

"Well, that's good then. I was getting worried for a minute."

Lovino made a displeased noise and did not answer. I walked faster, trying to catch up to him so I could see his face, but he only sped up in response. We had also entered a narrow alley in the middle of two large buildings, so it was hard to actually reach his side. When I opened my mouth to talk, however, a sudden small chime came from the Italian's pocket. It was his quadratum announcing a call. He answered it.

"Hello?" He stopped for a split second, and I stopped along with him. I couldn't hear the voice speaking on the other side, and I couldn't guess what it was saying, but at once Lovino's face darkened even further. When he spoke again his voice was biting. "Why are you calling me now?"

A minute of silence followed, during which he listened intently, eyes hard as flint.

"It's been settled for this long, and you're _still _bothering me about it," he hissed. "I know what you fucking want. But don't expect anything from me - I don't want to hear shit from you again. You can be fucking sure of that. Goodbye."

He hung up, jabbing his thumb into the quadratum to turn it off, and shoved it back in his pocket. We went on; but he was the picture of dangerous quiet, like a volcano ready to explode. I had no wish to pry, though the deadly silence proved too much for me, and finally I decided to say something.

"Lovino," I tried. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth. "Just fine. Just fucking fine."

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_."

"But you - "

"Good God, how many times do I have to tell you? It's none of your damn business!" Lovino all but shouted. "Do you make it a habit to stick your nose into everything? Well, you're not welcome this time! Deal with it."

Well, I really had blown it this time.

"I'm sorry," I said ashamedly, but Lovino was too angry to notice. Still fuming to himself, he led the way through a busy street, where our clothes blended in with those of the civilians, and we turned a corner to find the space center.

From afar it might have looked like some slender soaring sculpture made entirely of blown glass. The whole place was a fantastic shape I cannot name; but it looked all of steel, with a bluish hue which contrasted with the pale sky behind it. I thought it seemed out of place among the other stodgy solid buildings - like something from an alien landscape on a foreign planet. Even the path that led to it seemed paved with some strange material, smooth like polished stone; but it shone with an unearthly gleam when the sun struck it.

Here Lovino led me, silent as a soldier, and I followed along, probably looking as subdued and worried as I felt. Our footsteps echoed softly along the path. We circled around the building to the very back, where a tower jutted out from the sculpture.

"This is where we're staying," the Italian said flatly, but quietly enough. "And the spaceship is in the hangar over there."

The hangar was a low, sloping structure built of the same material as the space center, but located farther away - out in a large clearing devoid of grass. This, I learned, prevented things from getting stuck in the spaceship engine, so as to avoid explosions. Currently there were only a few spacecraft in there - some old satellites, not-yet-recycled rockets and the EA-225.

If I had the opportunity I would have gone over to look at it, but Lovino didn't like to be kept waiting. So I went inside with him.

Because it was still mid-morning, there was almost no one here at this hour. The other scientists had most likely gone to work. The hallways - and there were many of them - were empty, and for some reason it smelled like a library, even though I could see no books. Every wall we passed had its numbered doors, and I kept wondering whether one of them would open suddenly and its inhabitant poke his head out to stare at us. But that didn't happen. The floor was carpeted and we made almost no sound as we went up one floor, and then another.

"Here we are. Third floor." Lovino stopped to examine a sign on one of the doors. "Looks like they have our names here already."

"Really?" I asked, glad to be spoken to, and went to look for mine. Room 3C provided the answer, in a little electronic screen displayed on the door. I peered at it and found my name on the first line, in small computerized letters. "Well, that's nice of them - wait."

"What?" Despite himself, Lovino shuffled over. "What do you mean? Did they - oh."

"So it's two to a room, huh?"

The Italian looked at both our names on the screen, then shrugged, his face carefully nonchalant. "I guess."

"That's not too bad, really."

"Only to you, it isn't." He opened the door and we entered a decently sized room, with two of everything: large beds, large tables, large windows overlooking the courtyard with the hangar. On closer inspection we also had a set of shelves apiece, one on each side of the room. I went over to the one on the right and found it stocked with different volumes on nature and environmental science.

"Hey, they have books! And ones that I like, too. They must have been expecting us."

"More like the government notified them in advance," muttered Lovino, nose already buried in a heavy-looking tome. "They probably want us to read up on things before we leave. For all I know these are the only print editions of anything left."

"They must trust us a lot, then." I tried for a grin and then suddenly remembered something. "My luggage! It's still in my hotel room!"

"The Prime Minister knows where you've been by now - he's been keeping tabs on us the whole time. He'll have your things sent to you secretly, no doubt."

"Well, that's comforting..." I mused, not very sincerely. "Especially the keeping tabs on us part."

"It's just something he does. For our security and for the mission. It's all about that now."

"At least someone cares what happens to us here," I said, sitting down on the bed. "When we get into space, we'll lose all ties to the Earth except our own memories. Pretty lonely, don't you think?"

I saw Lovino shoot a glance in my direction, and then he laid down his book.

"Antonio."

I looked over at him, and found him staring at me with a strange expression.

"Yes?"

"Don't you have... anything you'll miss here?"

I thought for a minute. "Not particularly, except the people I met while I was working. I don't have any parents, or any family I know of. No relationships, and I'm not married." Lovino looked slightly uncomfortable. "How about you?"

He shrugged and didn't meet my eyes. "The same goes for me."

"At least we'll all have each other on board. Even two people are great - eight is a crowd, almost." I laughed. "Maybe I'll be lonely in my head, but not if everyone else is around."

"Maybe." Lovino sat down too, looking awkward, and cleared his throat. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was angry about something else and I ended up saying some mean things. But it had nothing to do with you."

"It's all right, don't worry about it. I do that sometimes too."

"You?" the Italian asked incredulously, his face comical to see.

"Why do you look so surprised?"

"No, I'm not." Lovino composed himself. "You just look like you'd rather joke around and laugh things off instead of getting angry."

"Maybe I do. But you've never seen me angry yet - it's not a pretty sight."

"I'll take your word for it."

From outside came the distant sound of merry chatter and I glanced out, opening the window at the same time. The others had just arrived, with Francis in the lead, making their way to the first floor of the tower. In no time they would be joining us; and Lovino and I were already here to welcome them.

"Looks like the party will be starting soon," said Lovino dryly. I grinned at him.

"We'll make it a three-day party. Just to celebrate our remaining time here on Earth."

"You make it sound like we're going to die," muttered the Italian. "Only you're smiling while you say it."

"Everything sounds better with a smile!"

Lovino raised an eyebrow, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Well, you'll have to prove it, then."

And so, we became friends.

Sort of.


	3. Escape Velocity

A/N: For those of you who saw Interstellar, remember TARS and CASE? They were just too cute not to leave out. For those of you who didn't - well, I still hope you think them cute. And that I did justice to their portrayals.

Semi-actiony chapter!

* * *

><p><strong><em>- Chapter 3: Escape Velocity -<em>**

_In physics, the speed at which an object can escape the Earth. About 11 kilometers per second or 25,000 miles per hour._

* * *

><p>The next day dawned early and we rose accordingly, Lovino the most punctual of all. By the time I awoke - five a.m. sharp - he was already gone, his bed neatly made, his books back on their shelves; though I noticed in passing that a large gap remained between <em>Astrophysics of the Modern Age <em>and _String Theory Revisited, _which he had flipped through yesterday evening. Clearly he hadn't wanted to part with his books. For some reason I found that very endearing.

I headed downstairs and ran into Gilbert in the lobby, along with the blond man from yesterday, who turned out to be his brother. Ludwig Beilschmidt, robotics technician and mechanic. He rather looked the part, with his reserved and efficient manner.

"Luddy, this is Antonio. Antonio, this is Luddy," said Gilbert by way of introduction, and Ludwig flushed - a standard reaction of his, I would soon learn.

"I thought I told you not to call me that."

"I can call you whatever I like, little bro," Gilbert declared, ruffling Ludwig's hair for good measure. "_You_ call me Gilly when no one's around."

Ludwig denied this ferociously and I couldn't help a chuckle. They soon joined in, too, filling the still city air with their gentle merriment. But I didn't laugh as openly as I would've liked. A small part of me wished for the same close companionship, which I'd never had growing up, and which always came back to bother me at the most inopportune times. And then again, I didn't want to wake the civilians.

The hangar, which had appeared low and obscure on my first trip here, now loomed before us and I felt dwarfed by it. It equaled the space center in height, a solid metal structure that nonetheless shifted like a live animal. Large numbers of doors appeared out of nowhere and slid upward whenever they were being used, and as we approached another panel lifted itself with a smooth little rumble. Through the large open space, I received my first true view of the EA-225.

"Wow," I murmured.

"See what I mean?" said Gilbert. "I told you she's amazing."

The image that first leaped into my mind was that of a fish. From its sleek grey surface to the narrow rows of windows that traversed its middle like scales, everything about the spaceship radiated speed and grace. It stood upright in the dimly lighted hangar, over two stories tall thanks to its massive engines, surrounded by rising platforms and shifting staircases that allowed technicians to rush in and out for inspections. A lot of clicking and whirring was involved, quiet from here but probably loud up close. Because the inside was well lighted, I could see silhouettes of people passing in and out of different rooms; suddenly I itched to be a part of all the activity.

"We can go in now, right?" I asked Gilbert, who had been studying the ship with definite adoration in his eyes. He gave a nod, still preoccupied.

"I believe they'll need help with loading," said Ludwig, already heading towards the piles of crates stacked by the door. "The robots can only do so much, after all."

"There are _robots_?"

"Yes," Ludwig answered matter-of-factly, as we lifted a box between us. He seemed to enjoy talking to me, which was flattering. "They belong to the space center and they frequently work as assistants. We're only bringing two along, though - TARS and CASE."

"What do they look like?" I inquired, trying not to betray my consuming interest.

"Oh, they're not much to look at. But they can talk your ear off if you don't watch out - TARS especially." Ludwig smiled as if he knew from experience. "I'll tell you when they show up - oh, hello there, TARS. We were just talking about you."

At first I thought he was addressing part of the wall - it was just a square slab of black metal about our height, nestled next to the crates. But upon hearing Ludwig's voice, the slab lit up at a screen in the center and started moving, turning into four interconnected obsidian columns. The outer two seemed to serve as arms to propel it across the floor, in the manner of a chimp, while the inner two ended up swinging like unused legs. It was rather cute to watch.

"Morning, Ludwig. I hope you weren't gossiping about me," said a surprisingly human male voice from somewhere on the robot. "It always reaches me afterward. And as for this pleasant young man here - "

"This is Antonio," said Ludwig, "in _case _they didn't tell you - "

"I see what you did there," TARS remarked and Ludwig laughed aloud as CASE rolled up, having heard its name. "But I have all the mission data already, including your names. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, I'm sure. Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine," I said, and almost stretched out a hand before realizing there was nothing to shake. TARS chuckled.

"Set a rain check for that handshake, won't you? I'll make sure to tell you as soon as I grow fingers. Among other things." I could've sworn the robot's tone of voice had grown suggestive.

"Goodness, Ludwig, he's on a roll today."

"Good one," said CASE, demonstrating, and Ludwig rolled his eyes.

"Their humor settings are at 75 percent. You'll have to bear with it; I don't feel like turning it down just yet." His voice had a touch of amusement to it.

"That's just fine," I said, because I was enjoying it immensely, and we set about moving the rest of the equipment, five enormous crates. They carried some interesting labels: _Lithium Hydroxide Canisters, Telecommunications Units, Extra Movable Arms, _and even _Exploding Parts. _They were all rather heavy, but the robots lifted one box apiece like they were feathers and soon left us behind. Gilbert, who had rejoined us, suggested finding some automatic carts to speed up the work.

"Hey, Liz! Lend us a hand, won't you?" he called, his voice echoing through the spacious room, and the brunette appeared from behind another stack of crates, stylus and electronic notebook in hand. She appeared to have writing utensils everywhere - three pens in her jacket pocket, two in her jeans pocket, a pencil behind her right ear, another holding her hair in place. This was Elizabeta Hedervary, the famous Hungarian engineer, currently in charge of tracking our inventory and checking the supplies.

"Was that an SOS I heard?" she said, laughing, as she sped over on a flat grey cart and got off, pushing it toward us. "I only have this one to spare, though. The others are carrying all the food. Here, I'll help if you want."

And she tucked away her notebook and pen, rolled up her sleeves and got right down to work with us. While she did so she explained to me that the lithium hydroxide canisters absorbed carbon dioxide so we wouldn't asphyxiate in space. The telecommunications units, on the other hand, would help us keep in touch with Francis and the Prime Minister back home; and the extra movable arms (dismantled, in extra big boxes) were machinery to attach the EA-225 to what she called "the wheel."

"That'll happen when we reach the space station," she said cheerfully. "Ludwig and I are going to do all the heavy work; then the wheel will spin and we'll have normal gravity out in space. One _g_, the standard."

"That sounds amazing."

"It is, trust me. The other continents don't have that luxury yet." Elizabeta said nothing about the exploding parts, however, and I assumed she'd simply overlooked it since the Beilschmidt brothers had already sent them away. We helped lift the last heavy crate of dismantled movable arms, and then she glanced over at the pile of cases she had come from and sighed.

"That's more food and fuel," she said, "but I'm not sure we should bring too much along, since the ship is already heavy. Extra food we don't need."

"How much do we have now?"

"A year's worth, approximately. It's all hard-packed and dried, so it won't take up space. Everything's in the storage compartment for now, until we take off. But the fuel is stored separately."

"We've got enough of that too, right?"

"My calculations show we can make the entire trip without refueling - but if we have to do that, there's the space station."

"Then... we should be fine."

"Yes, theoretically, but..." Elizabeta shook her head. "Really, I don't mean to ruin the mood. I'm excited too, and trips like these have succeeded plenty of times, but I just have a strange feeling about this one. First-time space jitters, probably."

I felt it too. But I didn't say anything.

"Aw, don't worry, Liz," Gilbert interrupted then, patting her shoulder. "Things will be fine, Gilbert Beilschmidt is at the wheel. I promise you'll have the time of your life, and even time left over to draw your funny maps!"

"Just remember - if Lili lets me, I'm next in line to the throne. So no joking about my profession, you funny pilot," said Elizabeta, whirling away as he tried to put his arm around her. She started walking briskly toward the ship, Gilbert following crestfallen behind her. "Let's go in now, for Antonio's benefit. You've been dying to see what it looks like, I bet."

"You bet," I answered enthusiastically, as she led the way toward a tall, nearly vertical staircase. It turned out to be an escalator, and we began rising quickly toward the shining hull of the EA-225.

"She's a beauty," Gilbert murmured just as he had the first day, only I wasn't sure who he meant, Elizabeta or the ship. His next words confirmed the latter. "I think I'll call her Endurance."

"She looks like a fish," objected Elizabeta. "How about calling her Fishy? Since we're running out of fish on Earth already. Right, Antonio? See, he agrees too. Might as well remember those noble ancients who sacrificed themselves for our tables."

Gilbert stared aghast at her. "You're joking, Liz. She's too beautiful for that."

"Nonsense, I know what I'm saying. Fishy it is."

Beside me, Ludwig was trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"They sound like they're fighting over someone," I whispered to him, unnoticed in the midst of their friendly bickering.

"They do this a lot," he replied. "They grew up together but went to different postsecondary schools. But they're still close friends now, as you can tell, and they argue over almost anything."

"You have to admit they look good together," said TARS from out of nowhere, and the two of us nearly fell over in surprise to find the robot behind us. "Don't they?"

"I didn't hear a thing!" Elizabeta declared airily, several steps ahead of us. We couldn't see Gilbert's face as he had turned away, but I assumed he was smiling. Maybe even blushing. It was hard to tell.

"Gil's having a heart attack," Ludwig whispered beside me, and it was my turn to stifle an audible reaction. "Don't mention this later. It'll happen all over again - it always does."

"I'll keep that in mind for sure."

"Are you guys coming in or not?" shouted Gilbert, having reached the top and recovered himself. "If not you'll have to ask TARS to take you on a tour, and I assure you he's extremely boring!"

"I take offense," blared TARS.

"All right, all right!" Ludwig shouted back. "We're coming!"

"Right away!" I added.

And we raced up the remaining steps like we were on fire.

* * *

><p>The interior of the ship was intriguing, with a strong metallic smell that followed us everywhere we went. There were three main floors - the top being the living quarters and the bottom the storage compartments. The middle was - well, a middle ground; we could eat in the mess hall and sit in the adjoining rooms and conduct whatever research we needed to in our spare time. But this was a horizontal view of things, and as the ship had to be launched vertically, everything had been turned on its side.<p>

This wasn't a problem for Gilbert and co-pilot Lili, however. We entered through a side door into the cockpit, and they showed us (or mostly me) their twin control panels of buttons and levers, the spacious windows, the slightly cushioned seats (which Gilbert caressed lovingly), and the interstellar maps on the walls. I asked if they wouldn't be uncomfortable during takeoff. Gilbert explained that it shouldn't be too hard on any of us, and that the ship would assume a horizontal position once we actually got into space.

"You guys will just have to buckle down awhile," he said, as if he could already see it happening. "The hatch in the hangar ceiling - can you see it through the window? Yes, that one - will open, and the city dome will also slide open, but only for five minutes. Then I'll count down three, two, one and shout for takeoff and you'll need to hold on tight. Because the force needed to get this baby off the ground is going to be massive, and I mean _massive_."

He then launched into a detailed explanation of the equations and variables they had used to determine the exact force and its effects on passengers, which I won't repeat here since I forgot them the moment he started.

"Gil, please," said Elizabeta, "you can bore everyone to death _after _we lift off, okay - "

"Liz, no! This is the most exciting part - now you've done it, I just lost my train of thought - "

"It's all right, you'll always have your king's manual - I mean, pilot's manual - "

"I take that as a compliment," said Gilbert, and they descended into another round of entertaining and pointless exchanges.

At that point I drifted away - I have to admit I was more focused on finding Lovino than anything. Don't tease me now. I just think too much about people I care for and about what they're doing whenever they're not with me.

(Yes, I care about Lovino, a great deal, and I did even then... but more on that later.)

It was easy going from floor to floor because staircases were so suddenly reversed and ladders were just flat. But going between rooms on the same floor proved harder. There were benches built into the walls, plentiful on the second floor, which might have given me nasty bruises if I were shorter and the rooms bigger. Everything was well-lit, though, so I suppose that helped.

Anyway, my sense of balance had completely distorted by the time I reached the living quarters, searching for my room, and by extension Lovino's. In that vertical hall only one ladder had been provided - flat against the floor, with a steep drop down of about twenty feet (the part I could see), which I had to ignore. Lovino's door, luckily, was the first one to my left, labeled with his last name; I swung myself over, knocked, and jumped inside as soon as he opened it.

Naturally I fell right through and ended up catching myself on the floor. (It sounds more graceful here than it actually was.)

"That is not what you want to look like when they ask for pictures of the crew," said Lovino's voice from somewhere above me. He didn't sound at all pleased to see me there. I turned over so I was lying on my back and a little less painful, and watched him that way instead.

"Hi, Lovi. How are you faring this morning?"

"Better than you look," he said, wrinkling his nose at the _Lovi_, and helped me up. "Why did you even take that ladder here?"

"Because that was the only way?"

Lovino sighed as if I were hopeless. "They have moving staircases outside for a reason. So you could have entered through the window, but no - instead you take the twenty-foot tall ladder and risk falling to your death just to get into my room."

"But your window's closed." The curtains were drawn too.

"You could have knocked and I would've heard."

"All right, I'll remember that next time. Thanks for worrying, though."

"Worrying? Who's worrying?" He huffed. "Not me."

I grinned at him, having gained the upper hand. "I like it when people care about me. Don't you? It's cute sometimes."

"Shush."

He went away and started rearranging the luggage I had displaced with my fall. The large suitcase looked much lighter now, as I saw him lift it easily and place it in the very back. I also saw two books peeking out of a half-open valise that had been shoved to the side. They looked quite familiar.

"Did you take those from the space center?" I asked.

Lovino froze and the books rapidly vanished, as did the valise. "So what if I did? You never saw a thing."

"I never saw a thing," I repeated after him, highly entertained. "Won't they come after you though?"

"I don't think so. I'm a scientist after all. I did ask for books a while ago but they never granted the request."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Paper's expensive as shit."

"You'd think they could have spared some for us."

"Yeah."

In the pause I marveled at how neat his room was. He'd tethered his luggage to one wall, with one of those high-density cords that hung everywhere, in case the ship had to speed up and we weren't in our seats. Beside that hung his space suit, white and pristine, with a badge saying VARGAS in front, and the European flag on the right sleeve. The helmet hung separately, the oxygen tanks below it; and at the far corner was one of those temperature-regulated sleeping bags with unbuckled straps all over it. His whole place looked, if not comfortable, then at least habitable. I supposed my room must be similar.

Then I saw, beside the door, a four-foot-tall metal plate with a handle on it, some sort of container. Light slanted through its cracks. "Is this for storage or something? I don't think you closed it properly - "

"Don't touch that!" Lovino shouted, and I jerked back reflexively, surprised by the intensity in his voice. He was too, and quieted right away. "Sorry, I - I didn't mean to yell. But that's a locker. I put - my food in there. So it wouldn't spoil."

Something sounded off about it, but I didn't choose to pry.

"It's okay. I shouldn't have touched it without asking. I'll go now - see you at breakfast then?"

"Yeah." He still looked rather shaken up, but I pretended not to notice and left him, taking the moving staircases as he'd suggested. The space suits had all been hung near the windows; I found the one labeled CARRIEDO and went through that window. It was just next door. I heard no sound from Lovino's room.

Everything appeared exactly the same, and even my luggage had been arranged in a corner for me. Nothing of mine had been taken, which was all I needed to know. I looked for a metal plate with a grey handle, spotted it next to the door, and pulled it open, expecting to see food stocked inside, or at least something space-related.

But - nothing. Just empty blackness. I let the light shine inside and discerned a few movable shelves at the sides, which I pulled out experimentally, but those were empty too. Then I remembered what Elizabeta had told me: all the supplies were still in the storage chambers. They would only be taken out once we were actually on the trip.

Which led me to the inevitable question:

_What had Lovino been hiding in his locker?_

* * *

><p>Breakfast was a quiet affair that morning, even though we all dined in a large hall with the rest of the scientists. I sat at a long table, with Elizabeta and the Beilschmidts because Lovino was a little late, and observed my comrades' faces, glad to know everyone now. Besides my two bickering new friends, Gilbert's brother, and Lili Zwingli the Swiss co-pilot, our crew also included engineer Alice Kirkland and our doctor Bella Peeters. Alice hadn't spoken much to me - or to anyone, really - but I got the impression that she didn't like how I talked. She had a slight British accent, which probably explained things.<p>

Bella, on the other hand, turned out friendlier. She smiled at me from across the table and I returned it.

"Is this your first time going out into space?" she asked.

"Yeah. I don't know what to think, really." The actual excitement still hadn't hit me yet. "It feels to me almost like a plane trip."

"Oh, it's _much_ more wonderful than that. I've been on five - they're always short on medical officers aboard ship, can you believe it? So I ended up filling in for all the people they expected to come. I've been to Mars, Saturn, Pluto, two exoplanets. It's simply amazing to look out the window and see a star or a planet right next to you."

"Aren't stars too bright to look at?"

"Our windows are special. You can see everything through them but on the outside they're coated with something reflective. So most of the harmful light never reaches your eyes. We wouldn't want that to happen."

"Where are you from?" I asked her.

"Belgium. And you?"

"Spain."

"Oh, how was it over there?" And her face took on sympathy. "The land was pretty bad in my region too. I do hope you didn't have to see too much of it."

"I did have to. There were a lot of oases around the wasteland and at one point we went out to retrieve the water."

"How many of you?"

"Twelve. For forty little springs. It took about three days to collect the water from one of them. Most dried up before we could even get there."

"That's terrible," said Bella. "And you had to go out there in the sun and everything?"

"We had cars. You know, those average ones with the solar panels and the air conditioners and the ray shields."

"Still. That must have been unpleasant work. And I was out in space the whole time."

"It's a lot better compared to here, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's wonderful. Trust me."

"I believe you."

"Good." She smiled and went on eating. She was very pretty really, with nice big eyes and a genuinely pleasant expression. No wonder why she had always been chosen as ship doctor. I would have liked to ask her something more about space voyages and what else there was to see, but Alice claimed her attention with some question I don't remember now.

In the midst of wolfing down my sandwich, I realized this would likely be one of my last normal Earthling meals for a long time. Might as well take it slow, I thought - but taking it slow made me consider all the ingredients in our food, and after pondering what kind of meat substitute had been stacked with the lettuce (which would be lab-grown, considering our terrible farming conditions) I gave up and finished my breakfast with not a little human discomfort. No one else seemed to have the same problem.

At that moment Lovino came rushing toward us with a muttered apology. Eliza and Gilbert had already left (together most likely), and Ludwig wanted to inspect the machinery again, since he hadn't done it properly the first time. Which left a bunch of empty seats where I was. Lovino had no choice but to take one.

I watched him as he sat down. He didn't look happy.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Fine." He helped himself to food and started eating quickly, even faster than me during rush hour. "Stop staring at me."

"What kept you so long?"

"Nothing much. Just cleaning up. Taking care of paperwork."

"You still have paperwork to do?"

Lovino made a noncommittal noise. "Just for... certain people who have issues with my being away."

"Oh. Did it work out?"

"Yeah."

By this time Bella was observing us - or rather him - with interest. "You're Lovino Vargas, right? The astrophysicist? I didn't get to talk to you during the meeting. But your speech was really great."

"Yes. I'm Lovino."

"Oh, I'm Bella Peeters. I'm just a doctor. Pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure."

They shook hands. I found this very amusing, forgetting Lovino had arrived at the same time as me. He wouldn't have had the chance to meet the others, reclusive as he was. But then I found it less amusing when Bella engaged him in conversation.

"You're the one who found the wormhole, aren't you? How did you do it?"

"Oh, it was complicated - it's not like finding a regular black hole. I didn't do it alone. There were five of us and we used a powerful radio telescope. Light doesn't pass through wormholes in the same way as it does through black holes, so that was a significant factor..."

Bella nodded as though she understood it all. "And did you use any interferometers?"

Then Lovino gave her an interested look that irked me.

"You've been studying this too, haven't you?"

"Not that much... I've just been following the news a lot, you know? Here and there I hear things, and then I stumbled upon your work." She laughed, and I thought I could see an unpleasant bit of red tinge her cheeks. "It's such an achievement."

"Thank you. I'm glad you think so." Lovino stood up and pushed his chair in. "I'm afraid I have to go now - I still have things to take care of. It was nice talking to you."

"The same goes for me."

"Bye, Lovi," I said, because I wanted to have the last word. Bella's happy expression shrank speedily and Lovino glared at me.

"Stop calling me that."

"See you later, Lovi."

"You're being annoying."

"Cheerio, Lovi." At this point Alice raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored it.

"_You_ - oh, I'll have a word with you later," Lovino muttered, and stalked off angrily. "You're ridiculous."

As he passed by the leftover plates at the end of the table, I saw him make a quick movement, as if tucking something into his jacket. Sure enough the number of wrapped sandwiches had diminished by one. No one else appeared to notice.

So he _had_ been hiding something after all, I thought as I watched him go.

Or rather, _someone._

* * *

><p>"Let's practice one last time today," said Francis. It was the second day and we were all restless. Not from excitement, though; no one seemed enthusiastic about leaving at noon tomorrow. I felt the same way, but I had the additional burden of a strong premonition, rather like Elizabeta's, which haunted whatever positive thoughts I might have had.<p>

We all went up to the ship after getting breakfast. The robots were already there, CASE milling around and TARS sitting at the controls. Francis hurried us into our seat, his face worried, although he had no reason to since all the work had been done yesterday. And, each in our own ways, we were already prepared to take flight.

But Lovino disappeared again. I caught a flash of him at the table, but he was the first to leave, and I saw the customary sandwich disappear from its place as he went. Again, no one noticed. I thought maybe he was raising a pet to accompany us into space, but only jokingly, and I didn't believe it myself.

"So, Gilbert's going to shout for takeoff - you don't have to do it on the mic for now - and you'll all need to have your seatbelts on. Because once he says that the spaceship will lift off," Francis explained. "There won't be time for anything else. Is this everyone? Ten seats here and we should have eight people... who's missing? Lovino? All right now, _where_ did he - "

A shrill wail cut him off. The wail of an alarm, high and piercing and alert. Red light flashed outside the windows, from emergency lightbulbs in the hangar walls, bathing us all in warning light. Francis rushed to the window and looked out.

"_What the hell_?" we heard him say.

I was the next one out of my seat and stopped beside him. The hangar doors were still open as we had left them, but about eight or ten people were outside the far end. As we watched half of them came running toward us. They were neither uniformed like the sentries nor lab-coated like the scientists. They wore ordinary shirts and dark pants and as they neared in the dimness I saw they had on masks.

"_Shit_," said Elizabeta behind me. "Those must be the damn spies! They've got weapons with them!"

"Where?"

"On their belts! They're not guns. They're fucking _grenades_!"

A cold shiver ran down my spine. It would only take one of them to blow up our fuel tanks and by extension the ship.

They were getting closer.

"We don't have time to get out!" Gilbert had run back towards the cockpit, followed by Lili. "We'll have to leave _now_! Guys, hurry! Buckle up! Francis, you too!"

_Lovi._

He was somewhere here - he had to be. He had been ahead of us all. He was probably in his room.

"Lovi!" I shouted and started running in the other direction, towards the stairs.

"Antonio!" Francis bellowed after me. "What the hell are you doing?"

I ignored him and kept on until I reached the stairs. I had never been so thankful for upside-down stairs in my life; I raced down them like I was flying. Lovino had to be up there - either that or he was in the space center and safe. There could be no other way.

"Lovi!" I shouted, but my voice couldn't fight against the electronic wail. "_Lovino_!"

At that very moment a screech came from my pocket - my quadratum alarm. The Prime Minister's calm voice rose above the din.

"_Launch. You must take off immediately. The spies have infiltrated the space center, but we have opened the hangar and dome for you. Go quickly. The mission must go on._"

I reached the ladder and swung down. The quadratum fell out of my pocket, crashed into the wall, and kept falling as the voice faded into the distance. But it didn't matter; I was at Lovino's door now. It was half-open, with a sliver of light showing through. Without a second thought I jumped in.

Lovino clearly hadn't heard the alarm; he must have turned off his quadratum, as no electronic voice was speaking to him. He saw me, started, and slammed the metal plate quickly. But I saw a hand get pushed inside as he did so, and it was enough for me to know.

"Lovi," I said. "Who is that in there?"

He backed against the door, holding it in place. "No one."

"Tell me, Lovi. We have to go. Who was that?"

"No one!" he shouted. "Don't come any closer!"

"I'm not going to tell anyone. Please, Lovi. We can't stay here any longer."

"Don't," he said, his eyes pleading, and my heart went out to him. With a superhuman effort he turned around and opened the door. A skinny boy was crouching inside and stared at me with wide eyes. He was small and pale and looked like a younger version of Lovino.

"Who - "

"My brother." Lovino looked ready to break down. "Don't take him. Don't take him away. Please."

"Lovi, that's not what I meant, I'm not going to! Didn't you hear the alarm, there are spies out there, they're going to blow up the ship and we need to get seated so we can leave - "

"_TAKEOFF_," shouted Gilbert's voice across the intercom, freezing us for a split second. It was too late.

"Crap," I said.

Then a loud roaring fiery sound, and the ship rumbled like a whale about to leap and we went flying. I grabbed the boy as we tumbled down the floor-turned-wall toward the opposite one, unable to stop the sliding. He was cushioned but my back made impact with a great deal of pain.

"_TAKEOFF_," Gilbert's voice still echoed in my head, and I saw through the open window the hangar hatch passing us, followed by fake sky and the dome. We were out in the open. My back hurt like hell. I heard a groan that could have been mine or Lovino's.

"Are you okay," I asked the boy, and after he nodded yes, "LOVINO, ARE YOU OKAY?"

"YEAH," he shouted back from somewhere across the room, though he sounded pained. His voice barely made it over the rumbling of the ship as it flew. "CAN'T MOVE THOUGH. IS FELI OKAY?"

_Feli. _"YES," I answered, and then the roaring drowned out all other words.

I have no idea how long we lay there on the floor, but eventually most of the noise died down. The sky outside was blinding yellow now, the same sky I had seen so many times back in Spain, the _real_ sky seen without shields. We had left our fake city behind and now it seemed we were heading closer and closer toward the sun. My only consolation was that it didn't get any hotter; the ship had been constructed to withstand temperatures like this.

"Hold on to me, kid," I told Feli. He put his arms around me and dug his fingers into my shirt. I in turn held him with one arm, and with my free hand grabbed onto a loop of rope jutting out of the adjacent wall. It was of course intended for times like these, and I made good use of it.

I held on tight, and it must have been about ten minutes later before the weight on our bodies lifted and the floor became horizontal again. Looking down, I saw my feet had risen a few inches off the ground; a minute or two more and I was airborne, save for the rope anchoring me against the wall. Now the sky outside was black and dotted with stars like the inside of a glittery sphere.

"Thank the heavens," I said, and let go. My back had stopped hurting so much with the weightlessness. Lovino swam toward us from across the room and took Feli from me.

"Feli, you're okay, right?" he asked, holding his brother tightly. Feli said a muffled yes into his shoulder and didn't let go either. I felt suddenly uncomfortable there; I had never seen Lovino look so protective of anyone.

"We have to go back down," I said, despite the feeling of guilt that washed over me. Lovino stared at me again with panic in his eyes.

"But the others..."

"We can't keep him in here forever," I tried to reason. "It's uncomfortable and it'll cramp him. Wasn't it uncomfortable, Feli?"

"Yes," he said, the first word he'd spoken to me the entire time. Then he was quiet again. Lovino looked from him to me and didn't move.

"Let's go then," I decided, and led the way. "If anything happens, which I don't think it will, I'll be here. I won't let them touch you."

Lovino gave no assent but followed quietly. We floated out the door, down the stairs, and through the entrance into the second floor, where everyone had unbuckled their seat belts and stood in a disarrayed crowd in the middle of the deck. All eyes were on us as we entered, and Lili was the first to gasp.

"You're all right!" And then, "A _boy_!"

Gilbert stared at us for a second, and I could see disbelief on his face.

"You two had a kid? How come you never told me about this?"

"_What_?" Lovino and I shouted together, and Elizabeta elbowed Gilbert rather hard in the ribs. I didn't dare look back at Lovino, for fear he would see my warm face.

"He's Lovino's brother," I said, trying to keep calm. "He's just a little boy."

"Don't any of you touch him," Lovino said loudly, his cheeks still red. Then he quieted: "He doesn't have anywhere else to go. I couldn't leave him behind. I'm sorry, I should have - "

"It's all right," Bella reassured him. "We can't go back anyway. But he doesn't look well... What happened to him?"

"He..." Lovino clutched Feli tighter. "His heart isn't that strong. I thought - I thought bringing him here would help. Because of the zero gravity. But I didn't want anyone to find out and take him back to the hospital." His face was hard but I could see his mouth trembling.

"It's all right," Bella said to him again. "We'll take care of him. I'll set up a space for him to rest."

"Could you do that in my room?" asked Lovino uncertainly.

"Yes. Of course."

"I'll help too," Alice offered, and she and Bella went off, floating slowly, to make the necessary preparations. The rest of our comrades continued watching us.

"… It's fine, Lovino," Francis said at last. "But now we can't let the Prime Minister find out. And there may be cameras or listening devices here."

"There are," Ludwig murmured. "In the far corners and near the machinery. I'll go turn them off right now. If they ask later, I'll say we wanted to save energy." He swam away through the air.

"Do you want me to take over?" Lili asked Gilbert. He smiled at her.

"No, it's all right. TARS can do it for now. CASE," he called, and the robot rolled over. It seemed to have escaped the zero gravity with some special machinery of its own.

"What would you like me to do?"

"If you could determine our position and where we're headed. We'll need to get to the space station before any enemy ships beat us there. How much longer?"

"About three hours."

"Have you detected any other ships?"

"Not at the moment. We managed to leave the spies behind." A map flashed on CASE's screen, and a blinking dot appeared several inches away from a pale Earth. "That's us," it said. Then another dot blinked awake, this time at the Earth's surface.

"What's that?" Elizabeta asked.

"A foreign ship," said CASE. "It must have taken off a few minutes after us. I can't tell where it's from; it's got anti-surface scanning technology. But it's not one of ours. Someone's tracking us now."

"Put up our shields, won't you?"

"Will do." CASE began rolling towards the equipment room, beside the cockpit. Elizabeta joined him too, but not without a last sympathetic look towards Lovi and Feli. Finally everyone else, awkward from hanging around for so long, drifted away about their own business. I took the chance to move closer to Lovino.

"Are you all right?" I asked. He gave a nod.

But he still held on tight to his brother, as if at any moment someone might snatch him away.


End file.
